Guide to Project Planning

Vo l u n t a r y S e c t o r S u p p o r t

Guide to Project Planning

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Table of ContentsIntroduction

Aim of the Guide to Project Planning .........................3

What is a project?................................................................4

What is planning?................................................................4

Why is good planning important? ...............................4

Outcomes focused project planning...........................4

Project planning...................................................................5

The Project Cycle .................................................................5

Doing a needs assessment...............................................6

Preparing a Project Plan .................................................10

Aims of your project ........................................................10

Objectives of your project .............................................11

What are your outcomes ...............................................12

What are your outputs....................................................14

What are your inputs.......................................................14

Monitoring your project ................................................15

Collecting data...................................................................17

Evaluating your project ..................................................20

An integrated approach.................................................22

Completing the Project Plan ........................................24

Common terms in Project Planning..........................24

Main types of plans..........................................................25

Further support available...............................................26


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Introduction


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Many groups think that you can play it by ear… stick to doing whatcomes naturally and it will all work out in the end, somehow. Planning isseen as too much work, too much like a text book and boring! Commoncomments are, “who has the time, when there is so much that needs toget done now!?” and, “we don’t want to get locked into a plan; we needto be flexible to meet the needs of the people”.

Effective organisations understand that they need to take a good hard lookat themselves, at where they want to go, how they plan to get there andhow they will know if they have been successful.

This pack is a beginner’s guide and is useful for new and small voluntaryand community groups that are just starting out. It is also useful for groupsthat need good practice guidance on planning.

This resource draws heavily on the Charities Evaluation Service’s (CES) bestpractice resources on Monitoring and Evaluation and Outcomes Planning -which are covered in more detail later in this document. CES is the UK’sleading provider of support and advice on quality and evaluation systemsfor the voluntary sector.

Further information and specific templates can be found on their websitewww.ces-vol.org.uk follow the link to tools and resources.

Aim of the Guide to Project Planning

How do you know when you are there, if you don’tknow where ‘there’ is?“

”


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What is a project?A project is a series of activities that takes place over a pre-arranged period oftime to achieve a specified aim. It differs from an organisation or group, which isa collection of individuals working together indefinitely for a particular purpose.Organisations often run more than one project simultaneously, but it is essentialthat these projects are well planned if they are to achieve their aims.

What is planning?There are many different forms of plans e.g. business plans, strategic plans,project plans, etc. Each has one element in common: they are on-goingprocesses to bring about change through having desirable future activities bytaking action at the present. This Guide relates to project planning.

Why is good planning important?• It will impress funders, showing that you know where you are going and how

you will get there. • It enables you to do more focused Marketing and get support from the public

including volunteer involvement and donations. • It sets a guideline for actions to be taken in your group. • It helps you to get the most out of resources available – enables you to spend

money and deliver activities within particular timeframes. • It helps you to understand if you are reaching your goals.

Outcomes focused project planningThis guide takes a detailed look at outcomes focused project planning.This is important as voluntary and community groups exist to bring aboutchanges or benefits to the community.

These are called outcomes.

An outcomes focus involves the following steps: 1. Identifying the changes that you want to achieve 2. Monitoring the changes that will happen over time 3. Using outcomes information to find out what works and what does not work

So as to:1. Decide which projects to run 2. Make positive changes for the people you work with


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Good project plans follow a continuous process, called a project cycle:

Project planning

* Diagram Adapted from First Steps in Monitoring and Evaluation(2002, Charities Evaluation Service)

The Project Cycle*

Set the aims andobjectives:

What do you want toachieve and how?

Needs AssessmentWhat is the need?How do you know

there is a need?

Plan

MonitorEvaluate

Set theperformanceindicators:

How will you measureprogress?

Review the project:What worked and did

not work?What do you need to

change next time?

Deliver the work

Doing a needs assessment*

You will need to decide on what outcomes you want to achieve. Theseneed to be based on the aims of your group and will explain the changethat you want to bring about.

Key questions to ask are:

1. What is the need in the community?2. How do you know that there is a need?3. Can you prove that there is a need for your project?

Gathering information or evidence about the community needs is essentialand is the first step in designing a project. Importantly, many fundingapplications ask for information about the needs and who you haveconsulted when designing the project.

The information or evidence you will consider in planning your project andin explaining it to potential funders can come from a number of sources;

1. Your own research.

2. Experience and knowledge of people in your group.

3. Relevant recent research.

4. Statistics.

We now go on to explain each of theseinformation sources in more details onpages 7 - 9.

*Adapted from Big Lottery Fund Guidance (2006),Investigating and Writing about Need.


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1. Your own research


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Questionnaires/ Surveys

• Help you to interpret the answers from people using a standard format• Questions should be short and to the point and are designed to help focus and

structure the interview or discussion. • Can be sent out in the post, given out in a session or form part of a face-to-face

interview. • Keep a record of how many questionnaires were sent out and how many you got

back – this is called the response rate. • Cheap to administer.

Focus group discussions

• Bring together groups of people to discuss issues in more detail.• Meet after initial research has been done to check findings and look at specific

issues that have arisen. • Led by a facilitator who asks questions and records the main points of the discussion

and who came to the discussion.

Complaints policy/ suggestions box

• A system that encourages people to let you know what they think. • Receiving complaints from members can help you to reflect on and improve your

service provision. • Positive feedback either informally or through formal systems such as a suggestions

box • Provides comment sheets, and records any informal feedback you receive. • Use the information as a report to the management committee which will help

develop plans and spot any trends, or weaker areas within the service.

Evaluation forms

• Provide an opportunity for people to feedback about a specific event or piece ofwork.

• Usually completed by participants immediately after an event, but can also becompleted at a later date to give people an opportunity to reflect before givingtheir feedback.

• You may get a more honest evaluation if you allow people to complete formsanonymously.


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2. The experience and knowledge ofpeople in your group

If volunteers, staff or service users have experience of the need in the group applyingfor the grant, this can provide useful evidence. Such evidence can demonstrate thestrength of your commitment. A well-chosen individual example can also help toillustrate the problem (but you must seek the permission of the individual/sconcerned).

3. Recent relevant researchYou may decide to back up your own evidence with results from other research,particularly if you are planning a larger project. Many local, regional and nationalorganisations and groups have done research to substantiate need or decide on thedirection of their work. For national organisations and many local ones, you can go totheir website and see if they have relevant research publications.

• Government departments (and specialist units within a department)

• Regional Government Offices

• Social Exclusion Unit (SEU)

• Local Authorities and Local NHS Trusts

• Specialist voluntary organisations

• Local community groups

• Charitable foundations and trusts

• University departments with specialist research centres

• Discuss your research with other people you know who work in the same area, as theymay know of relevant research.

Organisations that carry out or sponsor social research include:


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4. Statistics

Useful sources include:

• Census data (including statistics for local areas) can be found atwww.statistcs.gov.uk or www. neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk

• Other Government statistical publications on specialist topics e.g.The Index of Multiple Deprivation is available at www.communities.gov.ukor from the Department of Health – www.dh.gov.uk – which also has astatistics section

• Projects developed by Local Authorities. Bucks County Council has an area intheir Knowing Bucks portal that provides specific local data.

See attached link:

http://www.buckinghamshirepartnership.co.uk/partnership/BSP/partners/your_buckinghamshire.page?

It may be important to include some key statistics about thegeneral population in your area or the particular group of peopleyou want to benefit.


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Preparing a Project PlanOnce the need has been identified you will need to prepare a project plan. This setsout the following:

1. Aims 2. Objectives 3. Outcomes 4. Outputs 5. Inputs 6. Monitoring and framework7. Data Collection8. Evaluation Framework

1. What are the Aims of the Project?The aims are the effects or changes that you are trying toachieve.

It is helpful to break aims down into 2 parts. The overall aim describes the broad,general changes that you want to see. It is sometimes called the mission statementand is usually set out in your constitution. The specific aims are more precise about theoverall aim.

Example: A Family Learning CentreOverall aim:

To improve the lives of children who use the centre.

Specific aims:

• To improve the parenting skills of parents using the centre.• To improve children’s self esteem. • Parents give each other practical support.

The following verbs are usually used to describe the aims:

• Enable… • Improve… • Increase… • Reduce… • Maintain…


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The objectives are the practical activities that you carry out tobring about changes in the community.

Ask yourself the following question: ‘What do we need to practically do as a group toachieve the aims and outcomes?’

Example:

• Provide workshops, information and advice on parenting.

• Run a drop in centre with a play area

• Provide opportunities for high quality play, dance and drama

• Organise outings for parents.

The following verbs are used to describe objectives:

• Provide…

• Offer…

• Support…

• Run…

• Set up…

There is a direct link between the aims andobjectives. To achieve some aims it might benecessary to carry out several differentactivities. Therefore, each aim might havemore than one objective and someobjectives may relate to more than oneaim.

2. What are the Objectives of the Project?


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The outcomes are the changes or benefits that happen as a result of youractivities.

Outcomes indicate whether you achieve your aims. They can be short or longterm.

Example:

Aim: To improve children’s self esteem

Outcomes: Children are more able to make their own choices.Children are more confident.Children are more independent.

Outcomes can occur at many levels:

Outcomes in people usually describe a change in one of the following: Health,behavior, attitude and self-perception, knowledge or skills, circumstance.

Outcomes Summary: Developing an outcome based project plan

It is useful to summarise the project plan in a table (sometimes called anoutcomes framework, or a logical framework). This helps to show how thedifferent parts of the project relate to each other, in a logical way. The tableoverleaf sets out an example, drawing on the examples from above.

3. What are the Outcomes?

Level Example

Individual Improved attendance at school

Family Reduced debt

Community Reduced fear of crime

Organisation More funding stability

Environment Increased use of park by locals

Policy Improved partnerships


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OVERALL AIM:TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF CHILDREN THAT USE THE CENTRE

Needs

• BucksChildren’splan: Needto improvechildren’sconfidence

Aims

• To improvechildren’sself esteem

Outcomes

• Children aremore able tomake choices

• Children aremoreconfident

• Children aremoreindependent

Objectives

• Provideopportunitiesfor highqualityplay, danceand drama

• Run a drop incentre with aplay area

Outputs

• Weekly danceand dramaclasses

• 1,000 leaflets

• Daily drop incentre

• User survey

identified

teenage and

young mums

need support

• Improve the

parenting

skills

of parents

using the

centre

• Increased

knowledge

about child

development,

and

managing

children’s

behaviour

• Provide

workshops,

information

& advice on

parenting

• Workshopson selfesteem

• Workshopson managingchildren’sbehaviour

• Leaflets

• Telephone &in personadvicesessions


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The outputs describe the more detailed activities and products.

Outputs can include; training courses, publications, campaigning materials.

Example:Objective (activity):Provide workshops, information and advice on parenting.

Outputs:Workshops on managing children’s behavior, leaflets, telephone advice and drop in.

4. What are the outputs?

Who are your key beneficiaries?This refers to the main groups you are working with and the people your project isintended to benefit.

Things to think about are:

• Age group e.g. children, young people, elderly• Type e.g. ethnicity, disability.• Geographic location.• Quantity – approximately how many people will use your service?

It is important to consider the needs of your target group as their needs will affecthow, when and where you deliver your activities.

Inputs mean everything that you will need for the project, including the budget.Make a list of all of the things that you will need to run your project, and thenattach a cost to them. Be really specific about costs, even to the last penny.

This process of ‘recovering’ all your costs is known as ‘Full Cost Recovery’. Full Costrecovery means including the direct costs of projects and all your overheads. The‘Directs Costs’ are costs incurred as a direct result of running a project or service. The‘Indirect Costs’ (or Overheads) are costs incurred by an organisation in order tosupport the projects it runs.

The budget is an important aspect of project planning and can be a key factor inwhether you are able to secure funding or not. If your budget is accurate and includesall of the costs of the project, you will also find that running the project becomesmuch easier once you have secured the funding.

For more information on writing a budget, please see our Guide to Funding.

5. What are the Inputs?


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How will you prove that your project has been successful and that you haveachieved the outcomes?

• Monitoring explains what is happening during the project. • Evaluations attempt to explain why, and to learn and share important lessons.

6. Monitoring the project

Monitoring involves regularly and systematically collecting information about what ishappening and checking on the progress of the project. The information collectedmight be about activities, or services, users, or outside factors affecting your group.However to do this you will need to firstly identify what things to look out for –performance indicators.

Monitoring your project

Performance indicators help you to see the progress and success of the project. Theyare the things that you can assess and monitor to show whether or not you areachieving your objectives (activities) and outcomes (the anticipated changes).They are clues that show what has happened. Setting the indicators for your project atthe beginning helps you to see what information you need to collect as part of yourmonitoring system. There are 2 types of indicators; output and outcomes.

Performance indicators

These are things that you can assess or monitor to show whether you are achievingthe changes as a result of your project. They show progress towards meeting youraims, and are clues that show what has happened.

For each specific aim ask yourself, ‘what changes (outcomes) do we want tosee in our users, and what signs (outcome indicators) will show us that thechange we hoped has happened?’

(i) Monitoring Outcomes through setting Outcome Indicators

Aim

• Increase children’sself esteem

Outcome

• Children are able tomake choices on their own

• Children are moreconfident

• Children are morecomfortable about doingthings independently

Indicator

• How often children initiateplay with other childrenand adults

• Levels of interaction withother children

• How often children chooseto do things without theirparents


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These help you to assess the work of the project and show progress towardsmeeting your objectives. They usually set out the quantity (the number ofservices run or products delivered), take –up (the number of people whouse your service or product), and access (type of people using your service).

TIP: You can’t cover everything .When finalising your indicators you’ll needto decide what you can realistically do with the time and resources youhave available.

(ii) Monitoring Outputs through setting Output Indicators

Output

• Workshops.

• Information and advicesessions.

• Information leaflets

Indicator

• The number of workshopsand advice sessions in ayear and the number ofinformation leaflets(quantity)

• The number of peoplecoming (take up)

• The profile of peopleattending (access)

Objective

• To provideworkshops,information andadvice aboutparenting skills


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7. Data Collection

Examples of data to be collected: • Questionnaires • Evaluation forms, self-assessment forms • Observation• Support staff observing changes in clients • Interviews • Focus groups, case reviews• Case records • Attendance registers, case notes

ExampleObjective = workshops and advice sessions

Data collection method:• Register taken at the beginning of each session• A diary to record how often and how many workshops and advice sessions were run

over the year• The home address of participants collected and entered on a database

It is slightly more difficult to collect information about outcomes as it could involvecollecting information about people’s behaviour and attitude.

ExampleOutcome = Children are more confidentData collection method:

• Observe children and record in a log book when the children initiated play withadults and other children.

• Observe and note in a log book the levels of interaction with adults and otherchildren

• Ask the parents to fill in a questionnaire about whether they thought their childrenchose to do more things without them over time.

To assess changes over time – the outcomes – you need to collect information on theindicators at different points of time and compare the results.

At the very least you will need to collect:

• 1st set of data and information: at the beginning of the project so that you cancompare the result. Sometimes this is called baseline data or survey.

• 2nd set of data and information: at the end of the project.

Collecting data and information at regular intervals with similar people or groupshelps you to track your performance over time.

After you have set out what the performance indicators are, you willneed to check on progress by collecting data. Data collectionmethods are the different ways that you will get the information anddata to prove that you have achieved your outcomes and outputs.

Tips for collecting information• Only collect the information that you need. • For each piece of information ask why you are collecting it. • Use existing systems to collect information and feedback.

People and Data• Consider whether there are data protection or confidentiality issues relating to

personal data.• Collect information when appropriate and in ways people feel comfortable with.• Clarify who collects the data, when and why.• Feedback results and changes as a result of monitoring to the people involved.• Explain to people why you are collecting the data.

Example:Source: http://www.proveandimprove.org

For a training session (Activity) to have been a success it needs to have beendelivered (Output) with a certain number of people attending (Output) whogain a new skill (Output). They then may successfully apply for a job using theirnew skill (Outcome), or they may find that they are enjoying their current jobmore (Outcome).

This means that they stay in a particular job for longer (Outcome), and are able totake on more roles and responsibilities as their confidence grows (Outcome). In thelong run if this happens for enough people in a neighbourhood there will be ahigher proportion of people in employment able to achieve a better quality of lifefor themselves and their families (Impact).

So if we were to make a rough list of the ways we will know that the training hasbeen a success, it might include:

• Training session delivered • Participants complete the training and gain a qualification • Participants successfully apply for a job • Participants happier in their current job.• Participants still enjoying that job in 12 months’ time. • Participants talking on new roles and responsibilities in their jobs.• Participants saying that their life is better. • Participants’ families saying that they have a better life.


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1. Decide which information you need to collect and then routinely andsystematically collect this information.

2. Ensure that all of the information you collect is accurately recorded –in paper records or on a computerised database.

3. Answer the following questions: How well are you doing? Are youdoing what you said that you would do? What difference are youmaking?

4. Use the monitoring information to tell funders more about the projectand what you did with their money

In summary: Monitoring steps to take


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After thinking through what information it is important to know, and howto find it, comes the task of analysing the results of your research orconsultations. This can be done through inputting data into a spreadsheetor a table. You can then start to look at the data in more detail and drawout conclusions. You may then learn that some aspects of your work aremore successful than others, and be able to tailor your future workaccordingly.

Analysing the information

1. What has happened and why?

2. Did the project achieve the aims,if not why not?

3. Did the project bring about thechanges that you had hoped for, ifnot why not?

4. Did the project achieve theobjectives, if not why not?

5. Did the activities run as planned,if not why not?

6. What worked well and what didnot work and why?

7. How could we do thingsdifferently?

The results of the evaluation can be used to improve what you do andredesign projects/ services.

Questions to ask are as follows:


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Evaluations involve making sense of the information that you have collectedfrom the monitoring activities and making a judgment about the value, successand lessons learnt of your project. It is normally carried out at the end of theproject. A self-evaluation is a good internal learning process that involves yourown reflections about the project and the value of the work undertaken. Youcould do a self-evaluation yourself or have someone external to the projectevaluate you. Sometimes a combination of a self-evaluation and an externalevaluation can be useful.

8. Evaluating your Project

Project plans and monitoring information/ progress needs to be reported andcommunicated to funders, users, the management committee, staff andvolunteers before, during and after the project has finished. Think about whowould be interested in the results and how the information should be reported.Examples of ways to report information are as follows: Annual reports, trainingevents, conferences, management committee meetings, newspaper articles,radio, website, newsletters.

Reporting progress

As before, it is useful to summarise the complete project plan in a table so thatyou can see how the different parts of the project clearly relate to each other, ina logical way as in the example below.

Summary: Developing an integrated Monitoringand Planning system


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Aim

• To improvechildren’s self esteem

Outcomes

• Children aremore able tomake theirown choices

• Children aremore confident

• Children aremoreindependent

OutcomeIndicator

• How oftenchildren initiateplay with otherchildren andadults

• Levels ofinteraction withother children

• How oftenchildren chooseto do thingswithout theirparents

Data CollectionMethod

• Observationsin a log book

• Project report

• Observationsin a log book

• Project report

• ParentsQuestionnaire

• Project Report

Who reportsprogress, when,and where to

• Sessionalworkermonthly atsupervision tothe ProjectManager

• ProjectManagerquarterlyto theManagementCommittee

Aim

• Provideworkshops,information andadvice aboutparenting skills

Outcomes

• Workshops

• Information andadvice sessions

• Informationleaflets

OutcomeIndicator

• Number ofworkshops andadvice sessionsand number ofinfo leaflets(quantity)

• Number ofpeople coming(take-up)

• Profile of peopleattending(access)

Data CollectionMethod

• Register

• Diary

• Database

Who reportsprogress, when,and where to

• Sessionalworkermonthly atsupervision tothe ProjectManager

• ProjectManagerquarterlyto theManagementCommittee


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The diagram below shows how planning, monitoring and evaluation, and qualityrelate to each other and the purpose of each process.

An integrated approach

Taken from Implementing PQASSO training (2007), Charities Evaluation Services.

Satellite navigation:Are you going in the right direction:Monitoring and Evaluation

Map:Planning yourway ahead

Quality Assurance:Can you do what youdo even better?

Destination:What are the results?


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From doing your needs assessment (more information on page 6), you are nowready to complete a project plan.

Referring to the information on ‘Preparing a Project Plan’ on page 10, use theinformation to complete this project plan. These are the questions funders askin a funding application forms.

Additional information

Who will run the project and what skills / experience do you have to run thisproject?

1. What are the aims of the project?

2. What are the objectives?

3. What are the outcomes?

1. What are the aims of the project? 2. What are the objectives?3. What are the outcomes?4. What are the outputs? 5. Who are the target group / beneficiaries? 6. What are the Inputs? (Everything you need in order to start the project)

e.g. equipment / resources / policies / budget 7. How will you know that you have achieved the outcomes? Monitoring &

evaluating the project 8. Date Collection Methods

Project Plan


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Common terms in Project PlanningAims The changes or benefits that you are trying

to achieve.

Outcomes Outcomes are the changes, benefits orother effects that happen as a resultof your activities.

Objectives The practical activities that you carry out tobring about changes in the community.

Outputs The more detailed activities and products.

Target group/ The people that will benefit from your project,beneficiaries or the users.

Inputs Everything needed for the project, includingthe budget.

Monitoring The information collected to find out moreabout the progress of the project.

Performance Indicators The things that you can assess and monitor toshow whether or not you are successful. Theyare clues that show what has happened.

Data collection methods The different ways to get information anddata to demonstrate that you have beensuccessful.

Evaluation Making a judgment about the success andlessons learnt of your project. It is normallycarried out at the end of the project.

Performance The success in achieving the desired results.

Quality assurance Systematically learning what you are doingwell and what needs to improve, and usingthis information to do it better.


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A Project Plan enables you to plan activities and services over a relatively shortperiod of time – often projects run for a few months, a year or more. The overalldirection of your organisation should be determined by longer term strategicplanning, however, and the table below sets out the different types of plansorganisations use and what they are used for. Most organisations will use morethan one type of plan and it is essential that these plans fit together andcomplement each other.

Main types of plans

Type of plan

BusinessPlan

Purpose

• Sets out the method for running an organisationover a specific period.

• Reviews the organisation and sets out a strategyfor the next 3-5 years with detailed operationaland financial plans.

• Covers all areas of a business and generally focuseson management, services/ products, marketingand sales.

Frequency

Every 3-5 yearswith annualreviews

StrategicPlan

• Sets out the mission, long-term objectives andhow to achieve them.

• Concerned with the long-term direction ofthe organisation.

• Provides the framework for decisions.

• Usually covers vision and mission, long-termobjectives, key strategies and programs, budgetand risk areas.

Every 3 years

AnnualPlan

• Describes te projects and allocates resources(money and people) to achieve the objectives ofthe strategic plan.

• Usually includes trends, learning from monitoringprocesses, description of proposed project plans,comments on how activities contribute to thestrategic plan, and describes resources required.

Annually

ProjectPlan

• Sets out short-term, small activities aimed atspecific objectives with earmarked budgets andlimited time frames.

• Targeted on a specific geographic area or at aparticular group of people.

As required


Community Impact BucksTel: 0845 389 0389 Fax: 01296 331464 www.communityimpactbucks.org.uk

PROMOTING EXCELLENCE IN VOLUNTARY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES

Community Impact Bucks has produced a number of guides on all aspects ofrunning a voluntary or community organisation.

Guides available include:• Guide to Project Planning• Guide to Funding • Guide to Business Planning• Good Practice Guide to Involving Volunteers• Guide to Sustainable Funding and Financing Options

All these guides can be downloaded from the Community Impact Bucks websitewww.communityimpactbucks.org.uk

Further Support

Documents

Guide to Project Planning